Harris Rebar is praising the work of the Idaho Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program (OSHCON) housed at Boise State in the Center for Excellence for Environmental Health and Safety, following a consultation that demonstrated the positive impacts of On-site Consultation Programs in the workplace.
OSHCON provides free occupational safety and health services to small businesses within the state of Idaho to help them understand and comply with rules and regulations required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program offers occupational safety and health services to small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide. On-Site Consultation works with state agencies or universities to help employers identify workplace hazards, provide advice for compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs.
As a part of the program, OSHCON provides onsite consultation services to help with hazard recognition, reduction and elimination; industrial hygiene monitoring; and written program requirements. They also provide a lending library for training assistance and to increase a company’s overall knowledge about occupational safety and health.
Harris Rebar contacted OSHCON as they were looking to improve the safety of their work environment. Having an OSHCON consultant visit the company allowed for hazards to be identified and steps to be put into place to fix and educate employers at Harris Rebar on the hazards.
At this specific visit, OSHCON identified a need for machine guarding and fall protection systems for this company. To eliminate these hazards OSHCON consultants worked with the company to replace and repair machine guarding and fall systems and trained and educated team members on proper guarding methods and how to identify, eliminate or report hazards.
“Being in the On-Site Consultation Program has provided big changes to our business practices,” said a Harris Rebar representative. “We continually review our policies, procedures, and training to improve all aspects of our programs based on the most current knowledge of best practices. We inspect all machinery daily to ensure it is meeting the manufacturer’s recommendations for safe operation. We work tirelessly to improve our safety culture. Our teammates have become more involved in spreading our safety message and take ownership of safety on our site. Our safety culture has taken on a life of its own and continues to improve daily.”
To learn more about OSHCON and it’s services, visit: https://oshcon.boisestate.edu/